The New York University (NYU) School of Medicine proposes a post-doctoral, interdisciplinary, Mentored Career Development Program in Comparative Effectiveness Research focused on improving health decisions affecting the urban underserved. This 3-year research training program, the Comparative Effectiveness Research Training Program (CERTP), will prepare a cadre of physician Investigators for careers in comparative effectiveness research (CER). It will be sufficiently flexible to train scholars with different levels of prior research training and at different stages in their career development, yet sufficiently structured to ensure rigor in training and close mentorship with successful researchers. Our program will build on our strong foundation of integrated programs for training physicians for careers in population health research. Five key features will distinguish it from other K12 scholarship programs and other K-level scholarships at our institution: Patient focus on the urban underserved Content focus on conditions for which better decisions could significantly lower morbidity/mortality Methodological emphasis on CER designed to inform decision-making Stakeholder focus leveraging research partnerships with key New York City health care systems Dissemination focus on mechanisms for improved decision making, such as decision support K12 scholars will focus on AHRQ priority areas that cause high preventable morbidity and mortality among the urban underserved. Our proposed training program will engage scholars in three fundamental career development activities: a formal didactic component consisting of core courses in CER methods complemented by additional courses tailored to scholars'individual needs;an in-depth mentored research project and thesis;and rotation at the AHRQ-funded Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics on Healthcare Information Technology (CERT-HIT) at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Graduates'achievements will be monitored one, three, five, and ten years. With close ties to NYU's other schools and important NYC public healthcare delivery stakeholders, our program will address the critical deficiency of investigators committed to comparative effectiveness research focused on improving health decisions affecting America's urban underserved. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This proposal will fund NYU School of Medicine to train 4 post-graduate scholars for 3 years in "comparative effectiveness research" (the right treatment for the right person at the right time). The training program will focus on areas where there is a particular shortage of training opportunities right now: a patient focus on the urban underserved, a content focus on conditions for which better decisions could significantly lower morbidity and mortality, and a method focus on research that has immediate applications to decision making.